Inducing labor in a woman past her due date is sometimes medically necessary. Other times, medical professionals may want to speed up the labor and delivery process to ensure the health and safety of both mother and child.
There are numerous ways for obstetric professionals to speed up labor, assist with the effacement of the cervix or increase the strength of contractions. Medications often play an important role in labor induction. Unfortunately, some medical professionals may choose to use a drug that is not safe for that specific purpose.
Certain drugs are dangerous during pregnancy
Many medications have not undergone testing for use by pregnant women. Others already have warning labels because they can cause catastrophic medical issues during pregnancy or labor. Cytotec, which is the brand name of the generic drug misoprostol, is a drug with FDA approval for the prevention of stomach ulcers.
Sometimes, physicians administer this drug to women during labor as part of the induction process. They do this in direct violation of FDA warnings. Cytotec can cause catastrophic uterine rupture. Both the mother and the child may be at risk in such cases.
Both a permanent loss of fertility and death are possible if a patient has an adverse reaction to the administration of Cytotec during labor. There are safer drugs actually approved for similar purposes that physicians can administer, making the use of Cytotec unnecessary and inappropriate.
In cases where birth injuries are the direct result of the choices made by physicians, those affected by the incident may have grounds for a medical malpractice lawsuit. Evaluating decisions made during labor and delivery with a skilled legal team can help people identify deviations from best practices and seek justice through the civil courts.